water in rear footwells

[Hnichols]

Has anyone heard of rainwater entering the cabin from below? After driving in heavy rain I've noticed that I have quite a bit of water in the rear footwells. I don't think it's coming from above (e.g. sunroof) or from the doors or windows because all is dry everywhere except the floor. It's as if water is coming up through the floor. My car is an '88 carrera coupe.
TIA,
Hugh

[BernieP]

Most likely a leaking rear window seal, BTDT.

Bernie P

[Rusty Heap]

Most likely the rear window seal, and most likely the horsehair backing of your rear seat bottom and rear firewall is soaked too. I'd be pulling those out to triple check as you've only found the water that you've seen.

An auto glass place was able to get silicone under the lower edge corners to keep my window in place. The electric rear defog wires run along the side of the gasket and they're a beatch to replace.

[Hnichols]

Thanks, guys. Not really good news: replacing the window seal (I assume removing the window itself) sounds like a nasty project.

I don't feel any wetness around the window, but I guess water follows seeps around in strange ways.

Hugh

[uwanna]

Have you checked to see if your rear sunroof drains are clean and clear? I had a similar problem that drove me nuts! Open your sunroof and pour some water in the "channel" on either side of the sunroof and make sure it flows out of the rear drain holes. (open rear lid and look at upper left and right for little holes).
Here is a link to my similar problem and the solution.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/457118-eureka-found-rear-seat-water-leak-sunroof-related.html

[Hnichols]

uwanna: thanks for the great link.

Sounds like the symptoms for a rear window and a sunroof link are similar. Need a dry day for me to check, though, and we haven't had one of those (let alone sun) for two weeks here in Chicago.

[LakeCleElum]

Not only agree with the rear window seal, But, also:

If you don't take care of this, the water will rust out not only your floor pan, but also the come thru the Rocker on that side....For now, drill a small hole to let the water drain...

[wayner]

Agreed. And the parcel tray and the rear seat buckets will also disintegrate under that damp carpeting.

Here is a picture of how the leak starts. (I just installed the rear window using a new but old in a box window seal that was no longer as flexible as when it was purchased).

As a result, it didn't seal and I had to reinstall using a brand new fresh seal.
Here is a picture from my leak test.

The water takes the path of least resistance to the floor and eventually makes its own path out of the car as stated above.

[Hnichols]

OK, I removed the two folding seats and determined that the carpet underneath is also wet.

The seat back isn't really, but I'm sure there is a water path somewhere.

I undid the zipper on the headliner and the piece that covers the sunroof mechanism. I haven't done the drain test, but I didn't notice any dampness there, so I'm leaning towards the rear window hypothesis.

A couple of questions: to fix the window I assume you have to remove the seat backs and the "shelf" where the speakers are. How do you remove this: do you need to dismantle the material on the sides, rear armrests, etc.? I've removed all the screws I can see: is it now just a matter of tearing stuff off?

And the rear window: does it need to be removed, or can it be caulked in place?

Thanks!

[RWebb]

yes, tear it all out down to bare metal; replace with newer, better materials once you find & fix the leak

seat backs have big screws at the hinge point; seat bottoms are just glued in

sometimes rear windows can have stuff injected by a glass shop BUT you may have rust on the frame

how good are you at welding?

[uwanna]

Originally Posted by Hnichols

OK, I removed the two folding seats and determined that the carpet underneath is also wet.

The seat back isn't really, but I'm sure there is a water path somewhere.

I undid the zipper on the headliner and the piece that covers the sunroof mechanism. I haven't done the drain test, but I didn't notice any dampness there, so I'm leaning towards the rear window hypothesis.
Thanks!

If you have a sunroof draining problem, the water will drip down thru the perforations in the headliner> ERGO the seat bottoms will be wet but the back panel won't be.
Get out a hose and flood water over top and closed sunroof and look for drips thru the headliner, and also make sure water flows down thru the drains.
That's how I found my leaks.

[wayner]

You can get an idea of minor damage on page 10 of my thread.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/626050-saving-73-crusher-10.html

or worse, on Chris car midway down this page
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/570175-my-73-hot-rod-home.html

I hope you caught it early. Also, time to check the front window. I have seen cars with no metal left under the dash pad above the gauges because of an undetected water leak.

[DRACO A5OG]

to elimnated the floor pan, in the garage at night place a shop light underneath, check the cab, if yiu see pin holes of light, there is your culprit, use 3m weather strip adhesive and plug them up, if no light, default to seals.

[Hnichols]

It's the rear window. I'll get it done professionally. Any suggestions?

I'm hoping I won't have a rust situation since the car is galvanized (and '88). Still, that insulation material holds in a lot of water. I removed the piece on the parcel shelf, but not the piece that covers the rear seat.

[RWebb]

strip all the foam out - you may also have mold...

[wayner]

I would count on some even minor cleanup of the window tracks while the glass is out.

If it were me, even if not technically inclined, I would remover the rear glass myself, do the cleanup, and then if you don't feel up to it, have a mobile installer come over and install the new one.

To remove, the glass, take a long razorblade knife and cut the seal flush with the glass (under the trim)

That way once cut, you can remove the trim without having to pry it off.